Clutch



H. A. KNOX 2,329,205

CLUTCH Filed April 29, 1942 4 sheets-sheet 1 Sept. 14, 1943.

H. A. KNOX Sept. 14, 1943.

CLUTCH Filed April 29, l1942 y 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 14, 1943. v H, A;KNQX 2,329,205

CLUTCH l Filed April 29, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 [THT sept. 14, 1943. H.A. KNOX 2,329,205

LUTCH Filed April 29, 1 942 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 portions,

Patented Sept.v 14, 1943 s v foLUcrcHf' 5 y f. f Harry Washingtori,D. -Yf v ApnueatienApriize,1942,seriameiuasai v f Figure? 1s ianend. ViewyThe Vinvention described herein maybe manu'- meof any :royalty thereon.v y f.

l ':This application is a continuationein-partof' my copendingapplicatongserial No.

391,330-1ed May 1, 1941,'andnoW-Labandoned. e'

This. invention relates toa eiutenfparticuiarly' for use inautomotiveiehcles. The clutch of thei invention `is of the frictiontype-having plates' which are placed in' frictional factured and-used.by or forv the Governmentfor f governmental purposes, withoutthevpayment to y I engagement by means of'a toggle-actuatedfwedge i or`aicompound toggler According to one embodi-k ment theenoveltoggle unit-is of a type-which continuously and automatically compensatesfor fclutch' wear, has an eccentric' crank action withY the ,toggle armsyvery vnearly at right. 'angles in' the .neutral position, gives'za highfriction force forja smallapplied force, and eliminatesheayy.

springs in the v.clutch engaging mechanism. ,.A

modification `thereof features a l compound toggle unitY which also7continuously Vand automatically compensates fory normal clutchfwear,provides a f substantially constant clutchengaging force at all times..and includesva novel arrangement vto permit 'periodiclmajor Wearadjustments ofrrther clutchkengaging elements. j.'

frictin-creatingforce by, a short strokexwhich automatically and.Vcontinuously compensates. for

" `arm;- of f Figure y 'trated inifelevation;

i'. shaft. v. in

Ffigure', f. H V.Figure 3' isfafisagmentaryndetail, partly in section).showingi the .portion Inf :the verticaltoggie unnunted.fenxtlreshaftoiligures 'and; 1-".- f

Fig. 1Q is a,v 'of Fgss, vthe .telescopingemembers r`neingillusf Figure1211s asectional Yiewfthrou'ghbhe' maiorr ,Figure 13 is laperspectiveView. of ,the major Wear"adjusting'pin;. g

ordinarycluth Wear, and'which, permits; quick and convenientperiodicmajor wea-r adjustments of the clutch engaging elements.

To`th`ese and otheren'daA the invention 'sists in the construction,arrangement' and com pinaticril ofelements described hereinafter andpointed Yout in therclaims forming apart of' this In thev drawings Fig.1 is a plan view-olfapracticalembodiment Figure 2` is a View inelevation ofthe clutch' of Fig. 1, to'larger scale, showing most of thelower h alf inaxial section and the uppery half broken and'foreshortened ffthe clutch, .showing sections behindbroken vFigure 3isa detailsectiontaken cn the .line y figurezshemvi-ngthe,eccentricshaft,l

of the wedgev cup Referring to' thefdr'avingsfhj characters cfr-ei*-Veifence; there 4is slflicwn a.: drum-'shaped V,driving unit .includinga central shaft- Lqwth 5a face `plate i2'. to which is riveted asl-at 3.a nlsteextension i I ;4,r`;danged..as au15. f .To thenperipheraisange"5'is `ixedpa backfplate f E, by means. of fse'zrewsA 1. 'f-,Keys 8,carried in transverse channels .9g-0n ,the inside A of flange 5 engagein transverse channels .l0 and --i l-gin the peripheries offemnulargVplates n' t2 and i3 with the driving unit. j ..5 Each of Y 'threehollow. face ISedapted to nest '.withfa 'corresponding slant ysurfacevi6 recessed .i he;platei;Vv Lugs 4 Minori V theloaek Yplated; engagedepending lugsjl-Lon the ,blocks I kwhich? are tl'ivuscarriedl in yrutatien ywith theA 'drivingimiL-andf with them are Ycarried :Eachtoggle lunit' has on a Wrist/pin vI9* liiglirichnisjcarried by the blockI4. The upper. portion of the Vertical armr'is clampedjonadpin py meansof av split hul) 2| and screw 22;. :Pin 20.- has eccentric extrsfrziiiesA23 journalled in.l a radial/bracket i21%,.extendin-g k*from a collar 25surrounding the driven shaft-26 and s1idable.;.onfahearing/sleeve ZI'onthesaid vShfH-f s inserted oneithersideof ring-plate I2 are in--ternalring "gears2`dovetailed into the `teeth of ,a spur-gearZpintegral with the `driven shafti 26 .thus making ring vvgears `28 apart of the driven system. These ring V'gears 28 may be less or.

' greater in rnui/nicer than two, vdepending ,upon

.service'reguirements Between theplatesand the -driving systemyisfthefrictionmaterial 30. This materia-l maybecarriedeitherby'thegdriven s etat-nettesten remained :clutc'h-structure;Vshowing'mostofthelower half *in axal'sec'tom f -lubricant will pass out.at 34- rather than down into the clutch plates.

The radialrarm ofthe toggle unit is composed l of two telescopingsections, an outer sleeve 35v and an inner, hollow stem 3 6, the twobeing held together by a bayonet joint as shown at 31 pe`r" mitting asmall amount of play' between-the telescoping members. Inserted intheouter. sleeve 35 and bearing againstthe outer part of 'the xed backplate 6. One en'd of the wear adjusting pin 49 is provided with anenlargement 52 and a kerf 53 forthe reception of an adjusting tool.

The adjusting pin is held in a xed posi- -tion by a locking screw 54which is threaded into innerstern 35 is a stack of Belleville"v springwashers 42 which put a pressure on blocks, I4

and thus compensate for wear in the "clutch up to the limit of the playin the l'bayonet' joint 31. `The thrust islderived from axial slidingofcollar which carries with it theeccentric ends 23 of the pin 29.AVThese'ends 23 rotate in' their jour# nals in the bracket 24, theircenters remaining a constant distancer from vthe 'clutch axis,` butsincethe pin 29 is held against rotation by the. clamp- 'ing` action'of`split'Y hub 2|, the inneristem 36 of the vertical toggle armgwill beforced downward bringing the springwashers into play andresult.- ingl inengagement ofthe clutch. i .1.

. When the play inthe bayonet joint Slihasbeen exhausted by clutch wear,a major. adjustment is made by. resetting the pin 20 in the splithub..2I. f

Sprin`gs39 in slots 49 inthe periphery of plate f o r-lI'and actingbetween plate `4` and plate I3 pre- 4vent rubbing of theV clutch partswhen idling.

The clutch of the present invention incorpo.- rates novel featureswherein ja light thrust will transmit relatively large pressurestotheifriction members. This is dueto the fact that theetoggle membersareisetat an angle very nearly equall ito, 90. This is made'possible bythe dcsign'of the `vertical toggle with telescoping members andresilient seating' therein. Otherwise,. wear:v in the fclutch plateswould'pr'ohibit a rightf-angledltoggle of small travel. f

It'wiuube further net'ed that the: usualv nem/v springs engaging-theslidingrapplicator 25 are dispensed with in the 'clutchof thepresentinvention. With clutch engaged (the condition shown Vin Figure2)` the vertically set toggle'arm is prac- .'tically self-sustainingsince the eccentrics 23 are almost, if not quite, on dead center, andthe comparatively light'force of the Belleville springs is -siiiicientto keeptheclutch engaged.` 'The ec- `c'entrics 23 may be thrown slightlybeyond dead one of the extending portions 5I and bears lagainst theenlargement 52. The presence of the enlargement insures a secure bite onthe ad- 'justing pin when screw 54 is tightened.

y .By'placing the Belleville Washers 42 entirely within the innerltelescoping member in the modification illustrated in Fig. 9, theapplication 2o of stresses through the axes of the Washers is a1- lowed`and Vin; addition` there is provided more space tosreceive a greaternumber of washers. A lever (not shown) engagesthefcollar 25 and by meansof a spring (not shown) urges the colllar in a direction to bring. theltelescoping sleeves .3E-3,6 into a position perpendicular'to the drivenshaft y23. In this position vthe full load or thrust imparted to theclutch `plates is :that inherent in the spring-washer assembly.V a i l YToV set the; clutch,v the. collar 25 isV held at the position desired tolimit'free movement and the clutch plates are brought into contact byad- -justment Yof the wearadjusting pin 49. Since thisV settingrepresents no load' .on 'the clutch plates, the` telescoping members 35and 35 will be extended to the limit ofl the bayonet joint 31'. Whencollar"25 is released, it will be carried by its lever and spring (not'shownysojthat'the telescoping members 35 and 36 will be brought intoperpendicularity with the driven shaft 26. "I'he thrust on the clutchplates atthis time is determined by the forces exerted by thespring-wash-4 ers which at this stage form a link in the compressionsystem. The play in the bayonet Yjoint r `31 limits the total possiblelength of the radial The expansion of the spring washers tends tocenter, and for this purpose the path of travel of the collar 25 isextendedv slightly beyond 'that required for 90 position ofthe verticaltoggle as shown at 4I." 'f

I n- Fig. 9 there is illustrated a modified-toggle unitfor actuating theclutch,- lMore convenient Vaccess to the unit is permitted for makingmajor wear adjustments.l In additionjthereis provided an extremelypractical means yfor' compensating for the reduction in the pressurewhich is', exerted by the Belleville springs-.Mwhen the -telescopingsleeves 35-35 of the toggle imitare extended'as a result of wear in theclutch plates. In this or`- ganization the inner sleeve 35 constitutes aspring washer cage and is pivoted to the collar 25 byr an ordinary pin43; The outer telescoping member 35 of the cage is coupled to a compoundtoggle linkage assembly by a pin 44; see also Fig. 11. This assemblyincludes a pair of arms 45 which flatten the knee of the compound togglelinkage `assembly and thrusts the annular driving plate I3 into closerengagement with thefriction disk assembly thereby taking up for wear.When the limit of the bayonet joint 31 has been reached, a majoradjustment is necessary. This is con-l veniently and quickly made bybacking olf the .locking screw 54 and turningthe Wear adjusting shaftV49 so that the eccentric portion' 48 creates a more acute knee inthecompound toggle and places the Belleville-washers in compres-ynoteworthy advantages:

sion. I .ocking screw54r` is then rtightened and the major adJustment iscompleted.. This operation 1s repeated when another ,adjustment isrequired. 1

The modiication of 'Figure 9 oiers several Y l Y (1) I'he majorkadjustment 1s located at an easily iaccessibleposition and `(2) thelessening of theexpansive force in the l,Spring washers .fluemazen/tensions? compare sailed" for: by; )the .f increased: mechanical:.adi/ane tage of. the compound sogglezdnet ithisfgsame" ente-nalen.,I`'-..alzclaiimr f rf 1 alg. A friction' :clutcnaieomprising adriv and adriving unit, a pressure transmittirugifrnech.`anism:forapplyingjpressure to said units to create frictionvtherebetween, said mechanism comprising a wedge in cooperating relationwith said units, a connecting rod carried by said Wedge, a thust unitwith a line'ofl action sub stantially at right angles to the connectingrod, and a linkage between said thrust unit and said connecting rodcomprising an eccentric pin withV its offset portions rotatively seatedin the thrust unit and connecting rod respectively, means to hold oneoset portion against rotation inits seat, the other offset portion beingfree torotate in its seat. n o v 2. A clutch as in claim 1 wherein saidholding means isreleasablefor adjustment position of the held offsetportion.

3. A clutch as in claim 1 in which saidfconnecting rod comprisestelescoping members loosely keyed together and spring means tohold saidmembers distended.

1 faces on said units, respectively, means foren-l gaging said surfacescomprising a wedge mounted l in `the drum-shaped unit for radial slidingmo-r tion therein, a collar mounted concentrically f thereon means eennsrrainimg me ylength er. #une Y o f the cagega' compound.` :toggle lits intermediate portion" :coupledfto `the other? end .pfthe springcage, f .am adjustable; .eccentric pin "jcurnallaed-zin the drivingmember 'and' pivotally ".engagingnan tric Apiv 'zand a 'thrustplatefpivoted to' "antisism-v able tby': the -othen end'oflfthe:,-toggle..y for impart; pressure to the friction elements. I

l9.'The st ructure as in claim 8 in which the telescoping sections kofthe spring cage are interconnected 'by means of a bayonet joint, theVlimits of said jointY establishing the effective length of the cage.rv

10. In a clutch including driving and driven` tion of the members, a`telescoping extensible spring housing pivotally mountedV atl one of itsends'to the actuator and extending substantially radially outwardlytherefrom, spring means in the cage tending to distend the partsthereof,

` means on the housing establishing the vlength thereof, a compoundtoggle having its intermewith the said unitsr for sliding motion axiallythereof, a connecting rod pivoted to said wedge,v

pivot means between'said rod andsaid collar comprising 'an'ec'centridand releasablefmeans to hold said pivot means against rotation.

A6. A clutch as in claim 5 wherein said connecting rod comprisestelescoping members loosely keyed together vand spring means tov holdsaid members distended. I

7. A clutch comprising admin-shaped driving unit, a driven unitcomprising a'shaft coaxial with said-driving unit, juxtaposed frictionsurfaces on 'said units, respectively, means for engaging said surfacescomprising a Wedge mounted in the drum-shaped unit for radial slidingmotion therein, a collarvmounted concentrically with the said units forsliding motion axially thereof, a connecting rody extending generallyradially of the drumfand comprising an outer portionA pivotedto saidwedge, and an` inner por-v tion loosely keyed to saidouter portion topermit relative radial motion 'between said porydiate portion coupled tothe outer end of the extensible spring housing, an adjustable eccentricpin journalled in the `driving member and pivotally engagingan' end ofthe toggle, locking means in the driving'mem'ber for securingV theeccentric pin in a predetermined position of prising a reciprocableactuating collar mounted" concentrically with the units, a telescopingextensible spring housing Ipivotally mounted at one of its endsto thecollar and -extending'subtions, a split hub-and contractile meanstherefor on said 'inner portion, and a pin clamped-'in said split hub,-said pinv comprising an eccentric extension. journalled in said collar,

8. In a clutch including drivingV and fdriven members, friction elementslou the members, ra pressure transmitting mechanism for exertinga thruston the elements to bring them into operative engagement, said mechanismcomprising an actuator, a telescoping springcage` pivotallyl `stantiallyradially outwardly therefrom, means on the housing establishing thelength thereof,

spring means in the cage tending to distend the parts thereof, acompound toggle having itsintermediate portion coupled tothe outer endof the spring housing, an adjustable eccentric pin journalled in thedriving member and pivotally engaging an end of the toggle, lockingmeans in vthe driving member for securingthe eccentric pin in apredetermined position of adjustment,`

and a thrust plate pivoted to and `movable by the otherend of the togglefor imparting pressure to the friction elements.

12. In a clutch mechanism, a thrustunit comof the mechanism to form alink therein, and

spring means within said unit tending to hold said sections distendedwhereby the thrust is communicated through the spring means and wear inthe clutch parts is automatically and continuously compensated bydistension of said sections.

13. In a clutchy as in claim '7, spring meansbetween the said portionsof said connecting rod to. hold them distended.

14. In a, clutch mechanism,A a togglecarinl wear 1nv the. clutchpartsris automatically andV continuously compensated by distension offsaid sections, the yconnection between one of said sections and theparts to which it is joinecl'com-A prising pivot; means including aneccentric, and

releasable meansA to hold Y said pivotmeans aganstrotation. Y .l f .v i

y Y HARRYAxINoX@

